Chapter 23 – Leslie and Marle

Chapter 23 – Leslie and Marle

I walked through the maze of the slums, feeling like a migratory bird that had strayed from the flock. I was trying to get to Leslie’s house. I had visited 2 or 3 times, but this was my first time going alone. Even if I were to ask a passerby for directions, I didn’t have the confidence to explain where it was I wanted to go. Just as I began thinking it might be better to head back to Edge and start over, I finally came to a place I recognised. A dozen or so shacks were randomly dotted around the entrance. I knocked on the door of one of them.

“It’s Evan…” As soon as she said my name, I remembered that Leslie didn’t live on his own. “Evan Townshend from Mireille Detective Agency.”

The door opened immediately.

“Hi. We haven’t met, right? I’m Marle.

A small, short haired, bubbly girl greeted me with a smile.

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Is Leslie here? Oh, congratulations.”

“Thank you. Leslie’s inside, come on in.”

I followed Marle into the room. The inside the house seemed only slightly bigger than mine It was likely a squeeze for two people to live in. It was different than I remembered. The wallpaper had an embarrassing floral pattern, and decorative lace cushions were placed around the room. They were things you wouldn’t think to find in Leslie’s house.

“Hey.”

Leslie got up. He seemed to be reading a book in bed. He pushed out the chair beside the bed, so I gratefully sat down.

“Yo.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I got pretty lost.”

“Better get used to it. So, this about work?”

“No, just something personal…”

“Thanks for coming all the way out here.”

Marle poured hot water into a cup with a floral design, and held it out to me. Behind the cup, I caught sight of Marle’s stomach. There’s a baby in there. The amazing feat of cell division was playing out before my eyes. It thought of Marle as some mysterious entity.

“You didn’t know yet, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

She noticed me staring. In an attempt to gloss over my blunder, I drank the hot water. It was just the right temperature.

“This is good. How hot is it?”

I felt awkward, so I asked a really dull question to disguise it. This is no good.

“It depends on the amount of water, as well as the material and the size of the kettle, but for us, it’s probably been left for about 8 minutes after boiling. Although, you wouldn’t do that anyway, right? Just tell Kyrie.”

Marle nodded with a knowing expression.

“Kyrie doesn’t use the stove. She’s a bit more scared of fire than you’d expect.”

Leslie says something about Kyrie that I didn’t know.

“Well, doesn’t that stop you from doing anything?”

Marle was surprised.

“She’s had a “traumatic” experience, as they say.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well then pretend you don’t. Unless she says so herself, don’t try to prize it out.”

Leslie looked protective of Kyrie.

“I won’t. I’ve never done anything to invade her privacy.”

I smoothed it over with a vague answer. I would probably never get a chance to ask her, either. I recalled my last conversation with Kyrie. Though it ended before it even started. That’s how it felt. Well, I was sure it was about to start. I was the one who ruined it.

“Really? I was sure that…”

“Hey, Leslie.” I really wanted to avoid that kind of a topic right now. “Truth is, I want to go see Don Corneo. Would you tell me where he is?”